The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol said Friday morning that it had turned in more than enough valid petition signatures to get their initiative on the ballot later this year.

The activists said they had submitted 12,000 additional signatures, on top of the 163,000 submitted earlier this year. The additional signatures were required after the Secretary of State said that a random sampling of entries found less than 50 percent were valid.

In order to secure a spot on the Colorado statewide ballot, initiatives must carry at least 86,105 valid signatures. Out of the 163,000 signatures initially turned in, only 83,696 were declared valid, forcing the campaigners to carry out an extended effort.

A Colorado voter initiative that would legalize possession of marijuana by adults for personal recreational use qualified on Monday for the state's November ballot, state officials said.

Colorado already is one of 16 U.S. states, along with Washington, D.C., that have legalized marijuana for medical purposes. Moves to decriminalize marijuana at the state level in the United States face opposition from the federal government, which still classifies marijuana as an illegal narcotic.

A similar measure to permit recreational marijuana use earned a place last month on the Washington state ballot. Legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes was defeated by California voters in 2010.

Under a medical marijuana law enacted in 2000, Colorado maintains a registry of more than 80,000 card-carrying patients and rules governing how physicians and distributors operate.

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Proponents of legalized recreational possession initially submitted more than 163,000 signatures on a petition to place their measure on the ballot, but the state's secretary of state declared the petition insufficient on February 3.

Advocates submitted an additional 14,000 signatures two weeks ago, and after a second review, the state certified that the proposal would qualify for the general election ballot on November 6, when voters also will decide the U.S. presidential race.

Voters defeated a previous ballot measure to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes in 2006. But proponents see momentum on their side, citing Gallup poll last October that found 50 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana use, up from 36 percent five years earlier.

Details: “The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act 2012 is a citizen’s initiative campaign to regulate marijuana and restore hemp. Just as ending alcohol prohibition and regulating that market has protected society, regulating marijuana will help wipe out crime. Restoring hemp, made from the seeds and stems of the marijuana plant for fuel, fiber and food, will put Oregon on the cutting edge of exciting new sustainable green industries and create untold multitudes of new jobs.”

Details: “Currently known as IP-24, the measure would allow adults over 21 to use marijuana for personal use without fear of criminal sanctions. The bill has substantial safeguards to protect children and public safety. With hundreds of signature gatherers on the streets every day, CSLE is confident the measure will appear on the November 2012 ballot.”

The number of signatures required is tied to the number of votes cast for the office of governor in the state's most recent gubernatorial election. Valid signatures equaling 8% of this vote are needed for initiated constitutional amendments and signatures equal to 6% of this vote are required for initiated statutes. Signatures equal to 4% of the votes cast for governor are needed for a veto referendum.

There's a possibility both measures might appear on the ballot but I think IP-24 is more likely as they've already collected ~35k signatures and they started a few months ago while the Cannabis Tax Act initiative has ~42k signatures and they started in early-mid 2011. While I don't like putting things that should be statutory law in the state constitution, I think I will sign IP-24.

Talk about not being coordinated... Looks like 2 of those 4 are pretty much dead. The most likely two:

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OCTA campaign spokespersons said it had so far collected more than 50,000 signatures. It needs some 87,000 valid voter signatures to make the ballot, so OCTA's goal is to gather about 130,000 to have a comfortable cushion to account for invalid signatures.

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The OMPI (IP-24) campaign, operating as Citizens for Sensible Law Enforcement, reported 46,200 signatures handed in as of Sunday. But because it is a constitutional amendment, OMPI must meet a higher signature threshold than other initiatives. It needs 117,000 valid signatures to make the ballot, and the campaign is aiming at turning in 185,000.

Of the many roles Pat Robertson has assumed over his five-decade-long career as an evangelical leader — including presidential candidate and provocative voice of the right wing — his newest guise may perhaps surprise his followers the most: marijuana legalization advocate.

“I really believe we should treat marijuana the way we treat beverage alcohol,” Mr. Robertson said in an interview on Wednesday. “I’ve never used marijuana and I don’t intend to, but it’s just one of those things that I think: this war on drugs just hasn’t succeeded.”

Just weeks before the deadline for state ballot initiatives, the effort to put a marijuana legalization measure before voters in the general election is in disarray as the federal government cracks down on medical cannabis and activists are divided on their goals.

After Proposition 19 received 46% of the vote in 2010, proponents took heart at the near-miss. They held meetings in Berkeley and Los Angeles and vowed to put a well-funded measure to fully legalize marijuana on the 2012 ballot, when the presidential election would presumably draw more young voters.

Instead, five different camps filed paperwork in Sacramento for five separate initiatives. One has given up already and the other four are teetering, vying for last-minute funding from a handful of potential donors.

Just weeks before the deadline for state ballot initiatives, the effort to put a marijuana legalization measure before voters in the general election is in disarray as the federal government cracks down on medical cannabis and activists are divided on their goals.

After Proposition 19 received 46% of the vote in 2010, proponents took heart at the near-miss. They held meetings in Berkeley and Los Angeles and vowed to put a well-funded measure to fully legalize marijuana on the 2012 ballot, when the presidential election would presumably draw more young voters.

Instead, five different camps filed paperwork in Sacramento for five separate initiatives. One has given up already and the other four are teetering, vying for last-minute funding from a handful of potential donors.

While Lee bowed out -- and the Prop. 19 redux committee instead focused on reforming medical marijuana -- the 2012 election cycle began with four competing legalization measures.

But what was inevitable became official on Friday, when all committees missed the deadline to qualify their initiatives for the November ballot.

So now we have to wait until 2014, and pray the movement finds a new leader -- and new benefactor.

To qualify for the ballot, would-be liberators of the magic plant needed to collect over 500,000 valid signatures and submit them to the Secretary of State by April 20 (yes, that April 20).

Of the failed efforts, one -- Regulate Marijuana Like Wine -- came closest, according to proponent Steve Kubby, a South Lake Tahoe-based activist. That measure managed to collect about 200,000 signatures, Kubby said on Monday. Other efforts like Repeal Cannabis Prohibition, sponsored by a coterie of attorneys in Mendocino County and the Bay Area, waved the surrender flag much earlier.

"We're full steam ahead for 2014," said Kubby. "Some of the funders are telling us that [donating then] won't be a problem."

After a raucous debate last night that lasted longer than anticipated, the Connecticut senate passed a medical cannabis bill approved by the House earlier in the session that will now head to Governor Dannel Malloy’s willing pen for signature.

The measure passed the state's Senate 21-to-13 after nearly 10 hours of debate. It now goes to Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who said in a statement that he plans to sign the bill into law, as he believes it would "avoid the problems encountered in some other states."

Also:

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The New England clean sweep may happen this year with the New Hampshire legislature possibly overriding the Governor’s oft veto of their medical cannabis bills next week. In Massachusetts, this November voters are expected to approve by a large margin a medical cannabis legalization initiative (in 2008 Massachusetts voters approved a decriminalization initiative by a whopping sixty five percent).

After a raucous debate last night that lasted longer than anticipated, the Connecticut senate passed a medical cannabis bill approved by the House earlier in the session that will now head to Governor Dannel Malloy’s willing pen for signature.

The measure passed the state's Senate 21-to-13 after nearly 10 hours of debate. It now goes to Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who said in a statement that he plans to sign the bill into law, as he believes it would "avoid the problems encountered in some other states."

Also:

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The New England clean sweep may happen this year with the New Hampshire legislature possibly overriding the Governor’s oft veto of their medical cannabis bills next week. In Massachusetts, this November voters are expected to approve by a large margin a medical cannabis legalization initiative (in 2008 Massachusetts voters approved a decriminalization initiative by a whopping sixty five percent).

Important Announcement from Show-Me Cannabis Regulation’s Board of Directors

Dear Show-Me Cannabis Regulation Supporters,

We regret to announce that we did not collect enough signatures to qualify for the 2012 ballot. We ended up with around 65,000 signatures, which is a long way from where we needed to be, but it also represents a huge number of Missourians who were willing to state publicly that they support ending cannabis prohibition.

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Finally, we want you to know that this is not over. The movement to end cannabis prohibition grows stronger every day. A recent poll by Rasmussen Reports showed that more Americans favor marijuana legalization than oppose it, confirming the results of a Gallup poll finding that a majority of likely voters nationwide are in favor of the idea, with 54 percent support in the Midwest. In November, voters in Colorado and Washington will vote on initiatives that will legalize and regulate cannabis like alcohol if passed, and a similar initiative in Oregon could also make the ballot. Show-Me Cannabis Regulation has strengthened its ties to that nationwide movement against marijuana prohibition by joining the National Cannabis Coalition , a new group that seeks to help organizations across the country fight these unjust laws, and we encourage you to visit their website and like them on Facebook.

Although we have not made any formal decision yet about the future of Show-Me Cannabis Regulation, we are considering another run in 2014, and in the next couple of weeks we will be meeting with the volunteers who turned in signatures, or contributed in some other way to the campaign, to discuss that possibility. (If you are one of those volunteers, expect an email about that meeting tomorrow.) Thank you again for your support, and we hope that you will continue the fight with us.

There's a possibility both measures might appear on the ballot but I think IP-24 is more likely as they've already collected ~35k signatures and they started a few months ago while the Cannabis Tax Act initiative has ~42k signatures and they started in early-mid 2011.

The legalization of cannabis has an optimistic chance this year to make the Oregon ballot as the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act (OCTA) and Oregon Marijuana Policy Initiative (OMPI) both bear down for the final stretch in signature gathering efforts.

Both OCTA and OMPI have until July 6, 2012 to turn in the required number of signatures, and each campaign is confident they can make it, but will need active participation from Oregon voters.

According to OCTA Chief Petitioner Paul Stanford, "OCTA has currently gathered over 80,000 signatures, and will require 87,213 valid signatures by the deadline."

The OMPI website states that their petitioners have gathered 100,000 of their 185,000 signature goal.

Medical marijuana has become the defining issue of the race to decide Oregon's next attorney general. Dwight Holton, a former federal prosecutor, will face Ellen Rosenblum, a retired appellate court judge, who has been vocal in her support for Oregon's medical marijuana law, which allows for the cultivation, possession, and use of marijuana for patients with a doctor's recommendation.

The pot lobby has come out in support of Rosenblum. Drug Policy Action, a driving force behind the passage of Oregon's 1998 medical marijuana law, has thrown its weight behind her campaign.

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Holton -- who served as an interim U.S. attorney from 2010 to 2011, authorizing a handful of controversial raids on pot farms in southern Oregon last fall -- has been outspoken in his opposition of the pot lobby. In a recent campaign letter he accused his opponent of benefiting improperly from her support for a hands-off approach to medical marijuana.

"More national weed money is coming in for Ellen every day," wrote Holton, according to Oregon Live. "It is surprising that someone who has spent the last 22 years as a judge is willing to sacrifice her legal credibility by effectively promising not to enforce the law if she's elected attorney general -- but that's precisely what Ellen has done."

Holton has positioned himself as the law-and-order candidate, receiving backing from Oregon district attorneys and county sheriffs as well as many public employee's unions, enabling him to take the lead in fundraising with $536,000 to Rosenblum's $416,000 as of Tuesday.